Tougen Anki: Dark Demon of Paradise

Tougen Anki, the 2025 anime adaptation of Yura Urushibara's manga, is a disappointing slog that fails to deliver anything fresh to the shonen genre. Its tired reliance on overdone tropes, bland blood-manipulation power system, and subpar animation make it a forgettable experience that's hard to sit through, even for diehard shonen fans.

The story follows Shiki Ichinose, a generic delinquent teen who discovers his Oni heritage after his adoptive father's death. It's a painfully predictable setup-angry protagonist, dead parent, revenge quest, and a demon academy arc that feels ripped straight from Naruto or Ao no Exorcist without a shred of originality. The plot plods along with every shonen cliché in the book, offering nothing to surprise or engage viewers who've seen even a handful of genre staples. It's a repetitive, soulless rehash that lacks any spark to keep you invested.

The power system, based on manipulating Oni blood to form weapons like Shiki's guns, is a complete letdown. What could've been a gritty, creative mechanic feels like a lazy gimmick, with no depth or strategy to make fights interesting. The blood-formedweapons look cool for about five seconds before devolving into repetitive, uninspired action scenes that fail to capitalize on the concept's potential. Compared to something like Tokyo Ghoul's visceral kagune, Tougen Anki's system is shallow and forgettable, dragging down every battle with its lack of imagination.

Animation-wise, Studio Hibari's work is flat-out mediocre. The visuals are stiff and lackluster, with clunky CGI and recycled shots that make action scenes feel cheap and lifeless. Compared to the bold, stylized animation of Jujutsu Kaisen or Dandadan, Tougen Anki looks like a low-budget knockoff. Character designs are forgettable, and the overall aesthetic has no personality, making it impossible to care about the world or its stakes.

The characters are equally lifeless. Shiki is a one-note, angry teen with zero depth, and the supporting cast-Naito Mudano, Rasetsu students, and assorted stereotypes-are bland archetypes with no development or memorable traits. They're just placeholders in a story that feels like it's going through the motions.

Streaming on Netflix and Crunchyroll, Tougen Anki is a chore to watch, even for shonen newcomers. Its folklore-inspired premise had potential, but it's buried under a mountain of clichés, a boring power system, and animation that fails to impress. Save your time for something with actual creativity or heart.

Rating: 2/10 - A derivative, poorly animated mess that offers nothing new and barely anything watchable.

I marked this review as having no spoilers because I don't talk about plot points or characters directly, but I do bring attention to some elements of the show that I feel may lose their punch if someone knows what to look for. Keep an eye out for Nazis on your first watch through then come back if you're still interested in this review. <3

It takes willful ignorance to overlook the fascist undertones used in this story. Oni are deemed so inferior to Momotaro they are referred to in subhuman/ostracizing ways such as "it" and "monsters", experiments are run on them, the long term goal of the Momotaro is to eradicate every last one to "prevent them from going berserk", children are not spared from any of the mentioned injustices, hospitals that are willing to roll the dice and help Oni during this time are targeted and eventually rid of by the Momotaro, and all throughout these and the other examples I may have missed or forgotten from my first watch through, the Momotaro are framed as good guys/are "supposed" to be the good guys to everyone except the audience, who's supposed to see through them because of the missing exposure to propaganda the characters have likely experienced. The blood as their main weapons is no coincidence or stylistic choice either. Inferior genes or traits unaligned with a "superior race" are represented through blood, a determinant also used in the past. Phenomenal symbolism and codes protest.

There's also rhetoric used to oppose and stand tall against fascists if you're a minority they target. When Mei is contemplating death/suicide after seeing her parent get ripped away from her life, Shiki says "Don't you dare die. If you die, it means you, your mom and dad all lost. B Fight Despair./b" purposing the same idea that has motivated victims in the past, that existing is protesting. It speaks to me as an FTM in America's... current politics.

But damn, does there need to be THAT much fan service? It was comedic in the watch party I viewed this show in, but on a solo watch through I feel like it'd just make me uncomfortable. The characters could stand to be a little more interesting too, but that's not really the shows top priority. Maybe once this arc/battle is over we'll get more personal, since what we're seeing is their reactions to a battlefield and reactions to years of fascist propaganda as well as new, dangerous contact recently made with them.

Overall I can't wait to see how this show develops. I hope it doesn't shy away from its message.

It's a great anime.

Watch it if you like solo leveling anime

Great story and character development is good.

Animation is also great

The best part about this show is the revenge mindset of the main character also the side characters oni blood is shown powerful

I'll rate it 10/10 binge it before it's too late.

Only 2 episodes in and this show has some of the most insipid, asinine and stupid writing I've seen on a bit. Naito Mudano should be erased from existence for being one of the biggest edgelords in anime. The concept is pretty boring too (agency/school for gifted people to fight bad guys! Basically repackaged Soul Eater/Bleach/My Hero Academia/Jujutsu Kaisen...).

I'm trying to hold out hope that it gets interesting and is more violent (touch of Devil Man, anyone?) but this just seems like standard, regurgitated Shonen crap. Would like the show a lot more if it had more grittiness and tension. Currently, it's predictable and I'm about to say "nah, I think I'm going to pass on the rest".

So, as someone who first read the manga and then watched anime let me tell you. This show while yes it does have a lot of common dark fantasy anime tropes, we should remember that most anime does. Jujutsu Kaisen took the idea of Demon Slayer and inverted it a bit to make (a little) more original. With Tougen Anki, they took Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen and mixed it into its on new thing. While most of the story is based off a common formula in anime it is still a good story. Most anime like I said earlier follow the same formula. And that isn't necessarily always a bad thing. This show has no fan service which I think gets it over the low bar of is it enjoyable. But this show is much more than just that. It is great!